


The flower dragon - sequel

by NYWCgirl



Series: The flower dragon [2]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, M/M, Mpreg, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story was written for Promptfest IX. The prompt was  Power - Peter</p><p>This story is a sequel to The flower dragon. Please read that story first.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for Promptfest IX. The prompt was Power - Peter
> 
> This story is a sequel to The flower dragon. Please read that story first.

Neal was thinking of a way to get out of the harem, when El came back from wherever she had been. Behind her came Peter, even before Neal could she him, he could smell Peter, as an alpha dragon, he produced more pheromones than other dragons.  
El whispered something in Peter´s ear and with a gently, reassuring kiss to Neal´s forehead, she left the two males on their own.  
Neal needed to find a way out of the room, but Peter was so much bigger than him and blocked his only exit.  
  
“I want you to give me a good licking.” Peter growled.  
  
Neal was really starting to panic now and wanted to scream and get away from this horny dragon. But for some reason he couldn´t get his feet to move away from Peter. If anything, he inched closer to Peter, intoxicated by the older dragon´s pheromones and stare.  
  
“I know you want to flee, but you are not able to. You know I have the power of seduction and persuasion. I like my younglings feisty.” Peter chuckled.  
  
The more Peter talked, the more Neal got mesmerized by Peter´s scales and horns, he looked so powerful and in control.  
  
“You should know you have a stunning body, your scales are gorgeous, I have never seen such a beautiful dragon, well, except for El.” Peter´s nostrils widened as if he was taking in every molecule of Neal´s scent.  
  
Neal hesitantly licked Peter´s neck and muzzle. Peter started making a purring noise which Neal assumed was a good sign. Slowly his eyes slid close and his whole body shivered with lust.  
Neal didn´t want to, but he felt his face closing in on Peter´s. Peter´s warmth and scent engulfed him, Neal inhaled deeply and felt his loins stir.  
He slowly extended his tongue and licked Peter´s shaft from the base up to the slit. Peter purred in contentment but wanted more.  
  
“Careful now, Neal, no teeth, just licking.” Peter whispered.  
  
He seemed to be enjoying the treatment, and his purring became louder. Peter suddenly retreated and pushed Neal onto all fours.  
  
“Please…” Neal whimpered.  
  
“El told me. I will make this as pleasurable as I can, Neal. But you need to be punished for trying to steal from me.” Peter growled deep in his throat, making Neal keen.  
  
Neal lifted his tale and Peter breached him with gentleness, Neal hadn´t expected, but he couldn´t stifle the sob that escaped his throat. Peter paused for a second, before sliding in deeper, biting Neal in the neck, so he couldn´t go anywhere. Each trust gave Neal more pleasure and less pain, and soon they grunted in unison.  
  
Neal knew he was about to come and snarled at Peter when he came. Neal´s orgasm set Peter´s in motion and soon Neal felt Peter´s cock swell, so he couldn´t escape Peter´s seed. Once Peter had shuddered through his orgasm, he collapsed on top of Neal, who still bound by Peter´s knot. Peter explained that it would take some time for the knot to free them, He rolled Neal onto his side and gently licked him. Neal quickly fell asleep.  
  
When he woke up, he felt that he was released from Peter. But Peter was still sleeping next to him. When Neal tried to get away from him, Peter stirred and got up, stretching himself in the process. Neal looked into Peter´s hazel brown eyes.  
  
“You´re mine, Neal. You are my most prized possession and I´m not letting you go. Now go back to El, she will take care of any soreness.”  
  
Neal rolled over and looked up at Peter and could see genuine love in Peter´s eyes. He had to admit, he wanted to be Peter´s mate. And not wanting to make Peter angry, he quickly retreated to the harem, looking for El.  
  
When he found her, he flexed his back and showed himself in all his glory. She was smiling at him.  
  
“El, I really could get used to this.”  
  
“I know, honey. We´ve all been there.”  
  
*  *  *  
  
Neal had to admit that life in the harem was not that bad. Neal was pampered when he had no duties towards Peter and he was allowed to practice his art. He loved to make music and paint, so El had made sure he had all the supplies he needed. The food that was brought to them was of the highest quality as were the wines. Neal settled in the life quite easily.  
  
But the last couple of days, Neal didn´t feel well, he was not sick, but he had an undefined feeling. When he was with Peter, he got agitated, which didn´t go well with Peter. But as Peter could use his powers, Neal always surrendered to his alpha.  
  
El was the first to know what was going on.  
  
“Neal, can I ask you a question?”  
  
“Sure, El, what is the problem?”  
  
“You give off this specific scent; did you use any of the girls´ conditioners?”  
  
“Of course not El, why would I do that? And what scent do I produce?”  
  
“It is a Jasmine sort of scent. But if you don´t know what that means, I have news for you.”  
  
“No, but I guess, you will enlighten me.”  
  
  
_To be continued…_


	2. The revelation

Neal had been listening with some reluctance and disbelief.

El explained that she had a suspicion that Neal was a so called Gulkhandan, a flower dragon, they were very rare and the males were able to spawn under the right circumstances.

By the scent Neal was spreading, El suspected that he would produce an egg really soon. She explained to him that he needed to make a nest, where the egg would be safe. She would talk to Peter, as it was better that they were not in close contact with each other. She wasn´t sure what Neal´s scent would do to Peter and if Peter would challenge Neal, well, she didn´t need Neal to get hurt, not while expecting an egg.

But it did explain why Neal was always so agitated around Peter the last couple of weeks. It was his body telling him to take it easy and to stay away from the alfa male. But when Peter summoned Neal, he was powerless and had to obey Peter, so it was up to El as first draikana to protect Peter´s harem.

 

* * *

That night, Peter got a surprise visit from his first draikana. He was absolutely delighted, it had been a while that she had visited him and he started seducing her right away. But she had made sure she would be immune to his pheromones as she needed to talk to him. She would see in what mood she was afterwards.

“Peter, have you noticed something different in Neal?”

“No, why, did he try to escape again?” Peter sighed, if anything was a mood killer, it was bringing up Neal and his shenanigans..

Neal had tried to escape the harem on several occasions, but the collar he was wearing was a dead giveaway whenever he neared the exit of the cave where they were residing. The last couple of weeks, Peter had noticed that Neal was more restless. Peter had blamed Neal´s youth and confinement.

“Come on El, it has been a long time, you have been sending me all the younglings.” Peter started purring at her, but she didn´t seem to react like he expected her to. She must have used some of her female potions.

“No Peter, I need to talk to you as you obviously don´t have a clue.”

“What do you mean?” Peter looked a bit confused, normally El took care of all the day to day business of the harem. It had to be important if she came to speak to him.

“I think Neal is a Gulkhandan.” El blurted out.

“Don´t be ridiculous. Of course he is not.”

“Have you smelled him lately?”

Peter started thinking. Now that he was thinking about it. Neal had smelled differently. But it couldn´t, Gulkhandans were so extremely rare. It just couldn´t, could it?

“You sure?”

“Almost, he has all the signs that he is pregnant and the scent he is spreading, it is almost intoxicating, you should ease up on him.”

“Of course, I will, you have a nest for him?”

“I told him to prepare one. You know that Gulkhandan babies are very demanding on the father. So no more summoning Neal, get that? Or you will have to deal with me. ”

Peter had a small smile on his face.

“Why are you smiling?” El looked smiling at Peter´s face, she knew why, but she wanted to hear it from him.

“Gulkhandans can only produce male babies, can´t they?”

“Yes, sweetie, you are getting the son you have been hoping for. That is why I need to stress that you go easy on Neal. It will be a difficult pregnancy.”

“El, you couldn´t have made this old dragon any more happy.” Peter turned around and walked back into his den where he lay down on the plush velvet bedding. El joined him and lay down next to him. “We are going to be the parents of a boy.” Peter sighed.

“Yes, we are, sweetie.”

 

_To be continued…_


	3. Family

Neal became more and more agitated around Peter, it had escalated in a fight which of course, peter had won. Peter was still an alfa male in his prime, he defended his harem on regular basis, so Neal wasn´t really a match for him. But as Peter hadn´t wanted to hurt him, Neal had bitten him in the tail, and although Neal was still a youngling, his teeth were sharp. So when Peter had brought Neal back to El, and El had asked the girls to take care of Neal, she had tended to her husband´s wound. Neal had gotten a good bite in, he had not only nicked the skin, but bitten trough. She put one of her ointments on the wound and wrapped it in gauze. It would heal without a real scar. Peter hide was marred with scars from previous battles.

While Peter retreated to his sleep spot, El went to check up on Neal.

“Neal, what you did was dangerous, he could have killed you, you realize that?”

Neal looked taken aback; he never realized that tempting an alfa dragon would be dangerous, even if he was your lover.

“I´m sorry El, I didn´t know what I was doing, but he made me so furious, I just…”

“I know, sweetie, but you need to be careful, the baby is growing and he demands a lot from you.”

El gave Neal a grilled lamb, she had asked to make for him. He would need all his strength. She could remember when she was pregnant of her first. She could have eaten anything, dead or alive. When Neal was done eating, she took him by the paw.

“Come, I want to show you something.” El pulled him to a part of the cave he had never been before.

They came to an opening that was much smaller than the normal openings to quarters in the cave.

“I had this made for you and the baby, the opening is too small for Peter to enter. It will keep you and the baby safe from him if it needs to.”

Neal walked in with El and could see the luxury that was placed inside the room. There was a sleeping spot made with lush, thick garments and cloths and when Neal lay down on them, he purred in contentment.

“This will be your den, Neal, your spot in Peter´s harem.”

Neal could feel his emotions built up in his chest. “Thank you El, you don´t know how much this means to me, I have never had a place of my own before.”

When Neal rolled over on the bed, he noticed something that looked like a cradle, it was made of wood and in it was bedding of the finest linen, decorated with delicate embroidery.

“Oh El…”

“I made it for Malinda, my first born and all the eggs have been in the bassinet, it is tradition. Will you honor us to have the egg rest in it.”

“It is my honor. Thank you.” Neal felt humbled by El´s gesture, making him a den of himself, so he and be baby would be safe from Peter or other males.

 

* * *

 

“Thank you for doing this, El.” Peter was glad his first wife was so smart. She had made Neal his own den. “Can you give this to him?” Peter presented her a satchel with gold coins.

“Why don´t you give it yourself, hon? Tonight at dinner? I thought we should have a nice family dinner, as I expect that our lives are going to change soon.” El smiled.

“Smart thinking, now I remember why I took you as my first wife.” Peter rumbled deep in his throat.

El looked seductively at Peter, who didn´t need much encouragement. He bit her in the neck and she submitted to him almost immediately.

 

* * *

 

That night, the whole harem was gathered for dinner. Neal soaked in the ambiance of family around him and the foods were delicious. They were fattening and sweet, everything a pregnant dragon needed. Neal enjoyed himself with all the tales from the girls, making Peter blush from time to time. Neal could see that Peter was a great dad, all the smaller children were crawling on top of him and he was playing with them and chasing them.

Neal could image his child playing here with his siblings. Neal only now noticed that the whole harem was female, so when Peter was chasing after the children, Neal asked El why there were no boys.

“Well, Peter has only produced girls, we don´t know why, but it is what it is, and he loves them nevertheless.” El smiled fondly when she saw Peter fall down theatrically when one of the smaller girls pretended to cough up a fire ball.

When some of the females started gathering the children to go to bed, Neal also felt worn out, so he excused himself.

“Wait Neal.” Peter growled.

Peter could see Neal tense up.

“I´m sorry, I didn´t want to make you uneasy. I have a gift for you.” Peter presented Neal the satchel.

“Is it for the baby?” Neal looked a bit confused.

“No, it is the start of your own hoard.” Peter chuckled deeply and turned around to try to persuade El to join him tonight as well.

Neal was a bit overwhelmed by Peter´s gesture, but looked nevertheless in the satchel. They were gold coins. He had never possessed anything that valuable, he felt tears built in his eyes and quickly wiped them away. He turned around to thank Peter, but he had left already with El. Neal walked back to his den and placed the satchel under the bassinet.

While he settled on the bed, he thought of a way to thank Peter.

 

_To be continued…_


	4. The moment of truth

Time passed quickly and Neal now bore all the outward signs that the egg would come soon. Although his appetite had been lacking the last days, his abdomen looked swollen. And he had become increasingly restless. El had called in a specialist who had assisted her in all her births.

“Thanks for coming, Mozzie.” El gave him her most genuine smile.

“No problem, El, which of the ladies is giving birth?” Mozzie looked nervously around, to see if Peter was in the vicinity. He was liked by the ladies of Peter´s harem, mostly because he was a smaller dragon that wasn't really up to a physical fight with an alfa male. Mozzie was known for his intelligence, not for his physique.

“Well, it is not one of the ladies.”

“What do you mean?”

“Follow me, I will show you.”

El led Mozzie to Neal´s den. As Mozzie was a small dragon, he had no problems entering Neal´s den.

“Neal, I have the midwife with me, can we enter?” El called out.

She didn´t get any real reaction, except for a very low moan.

“You alright sweetie? Mozzie here is going to take good care of you.”

El was surprised to see that Mozzie hadn´t followed her to Neal´s bed. She turned around, to see that Mozzie was still standing at the entrance.

“I think you need a healer, El, I´m a midwife, I can only help deliver babies and eggs. I have only very limited medical knowledge and you know I do better with the ladies.”

“He is ready to lay his egg, Mozzie, he has been showing signs for some time now.”

“Egg? What do you mean El? Only Gulkhandans can produce eggs.”

“Come closer, you will smell it, Neal is a Gulkhandan.”

Mozzie reluctantly shuffled closer to Neal. When Neal opened his eyes and looked up at Mozzie, he gasped.

“Oh my, you are one.” Mozzie suddenly sounded happy and excited. “You will be my first male. It is an honour. You can call me Mozzie.”

Neal only moaned and rolled away from them.

“I´m fine, just leave me alone.” Neal snarled at El and Mozzie.

But he started to moan again when the pain returned.

When Mozzie came up close to Neal he could feel the tension in Neal.

“Neal, you need and try to relax, you are making it harder on yourself if you tense up.”

Neal didn´t give any indication that he had heard Mozzie.

“El, can you get some hot oils, so I can ease the tension out of Neal? It will help him relax more.”

El quickly left the den to get the supplies ready. She knew it had been a good decision to call in Mozzie.

 

* * *

 

When El returned she heard snarling and commotion coming from Neal´s den. In between there were panicked shrieks coming from Mozzie. She quickly made her way over to the den, only to see Peter lying in front of the opening. His head was pushed through the opening, but it was too small, so he was stuck with his shoulders and wings.

“PETER!”

Peter was so caught up in whatever he was doing, that he didn´t hear El, not until she called out again and grabbed one of his wings. He pulled back and turned around annoyed but immediately softened up when he saw it was El.

“What are you doing here?” El demanded to know. Peter was not supposed to come into the harem without telling El about it. She was head of the household and she took care of all Peter´s needs. So there was no reason to come into the harem without her knowledge.

“I sensed that Neal was in pain, so I came over to see what was going on and I see this ´other´ dragon in MY harem.” Peter huffed.

“That is correct, I asked Mozzie to come over to help Neal, he isn´t well, and he could use some professional assistance.”

“Why couldn´t you have asked a female midwife?”

“REALLY?” El snarled, she was ready to engage into a fight herself with Peter, such ignorance. “You are so lucky that Neal needs help, because otherwise…”

Peter knew when not to antagonize his wife, so he backed away, showing that he was not planning on interrupting further. El could hear that Neal´s snarling and hissing had stopped and she looked worried inside the den.

“Is he OK, Mozzie?”

“Do you have the oils?

“Yes, of course.” El brought in several vials with different scented oils. Mozzie looked at the vials and picked on, starting to rub the oil into Neal lower back..

Neal´s moans became stronger and Mozzie told El that the egg would be here soon, she should warm up the den. El walked around in the den, breathing here and there on the rocks, so they would heat up. It was healthier to warm up the rocks than to make a fire.

Within the hour, the egg was laid and Mozzie gently took it and placed it into the bassinet on a fur and covered it with the linens that were lying next to the crib.

“Congratulations Neal, you are a … dad, I guess. Take good care of your baby boy.” Mozzie smiled while taking care of Neal.

“Boy?” Neal whispered exhausted and weak.

“Yes, silly. A boy.” Mozzie laughed.

Neal wanted to ask how he knew it was a boy, but he was too exhausted and he fell asleep with Mozzie and El taking care of the egg and oblivious to the fact that Peter was lying at the entrance to his den, guarding his family.

 

* * *

 

Neal stayed in a deep sleep, while El took care of the egg, so also kept the cave on the same temperature, so the egg would not be too cold. When Night came, and Neal stirred, she gently coaxed him into drinking some water, he didn´t feel well enough to eat. She carefully took the egg out of the basinet and placed it in Neal´s arms. Mozzie came back from dinner with the family and checked up on Neal. Dragons were by nature warmer than other animals, but Neal had an unnatural heat pouring off of him.

Mozzie placed wetted cloths on Neal wings and head to bring the fever down. When Neal started moving around, he gently took the egg and placed it back in the bassinet, to keep it safe. But it only made Neal more restless, like he was looking fo his egg in his sleep.

“Your baby is safe, Neal, we will take good care of it.”El whispered to Neal. He must have heard her, because he settled down again. However the fever didn´t go down. In the morning, Mozzie asked El to come with him outside the den.

Mozzie got all nervous again when he saw Peter sleeping in front of the den. He must have dozed of during the night while keeping his vigil, but El just pulled him to the common space.

“This is not good, El. I hoped that his fever would have dropped by now, but It seemed only to have increased.”

“Maybe we can ask one of the wizards to make a healing spell?” El suggested.

“It can never harm, ask Pristrea to come over, she is the best in healing spells and maybe she knows something about Gulkhadans.” Mozzie looked worried.

El immediately left the den to find Pristrea.

 

* * *

 

When she came back an hour later, Pristrea quickly prepared all the items she needed for the healing spell. She could see this was one sick dragon. His black scales were lusterless, and his wings flat. He didn´t even moan anymore, he had weakened very quickly, according to Mozzie.

And while the wizard was working, Peter awakened and smelled the new intruder, his scales stood up and El could hear him start sniffing the air.

“Hon, it is OK, it is just Pristrea; she is here to help Neal. He isn´t doing so well.”

“How bad is he? How is the egg?”

“The egg is fine and warm, we are taking good care of it. We are just a bit worried about Neal. Go get something to eat, I will keep you posted on his progress.” With that El entered Neal´s den and could hear the incantation the wizard was saying.

 

_Jeg signer Sener i Sener,_

_Aarer i Aarer,_

_Kiød i Kiød,_

_Og Blod i Blod!*_

 

When she finished, she took a vial out of her bag and emptied it in Neal´s mouth. Neal was still unaware of all that was going on around him.

“This will give him peace of mind, it is all that I can do for him, now, we wait.”

Mozzie and Pristrea kept changing the wetted pieces of cloth during the night. El Left the den to tend to Peter, who was still lying in front of the entrance of Neal´s den.

 

_To be continued…_

 

 

 

 

* I bless tendon to tendon

vein to vein,

flesh to flesh,

and blood to blood!

 


	5. Healing

Neal kept on getting weaker, and El and Peter were now beyond worried. Pristrea and Mozzie did their best, but couldn´t determine a reason why Neal was so sick. The fever didn´t seem to be connected to laying the egg. It was strange that Neal only got worse after laying the egg. He was lying on his stomach, his scales had taken on a grayish color instead of the vibrant black they were before. His breathing was getting more labored, he was definitely getting worse.

He hadn´t woken since the healing spell, and both Mozzie and Pristrea were at a loss. The way Neal was going, his baby would be fatherless pretty soon. They had to find out more about Gulkhandans.

Pristrea and Mozzie told El and Peter that they would go and talk to the Elders to find out if they knew what to do. In the meantime El would need to keep Neal´s fever at bay and try to get him to drink.

 

* * *

 

El had changed the cloths and was gently singing to Neal, when she picked up the egg and started walking around with it. It gave her something to do, and she felt sorry for the egg. It was important for the baby that it felt the connection with his mother,…father,… parents.

Peter had stuck his head through the opening to the den and was sniffing the air. “He doesn´t smell good, El.” Peter said depressed.

“I know hon, but we have done all that we can. It is up to Neal now.” El walked up to Peter and let him sniff the egg.

Peter gave it a small lick. And said with a sad smile. “The boy is doing well. Place him with his dad, maybe it is comforting to Neal.”

“You sure, what if he…?” El was worried that Neal could possible crack the egg if he made an unexpected movement in his fevered state.

“Please El, just let father and son be together, for the time they have left.” Peter asked softly.

El placed the egg underneath Neal´s still paws and sighed. She positioned herself next to Neal and finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

She woke when Peter called out to her.

“El, check on Neal. Is he alright? He is mumbling.”

She looked up at Neal and Peter was right, Neal was whimpering, but she couldn´t make out the words. She felt him and his fever was down, it was not gone, but not as high as it had been. Maybe Neal was getting better?

But since Neal started stirring, she took the egg and placed it back in the bassinet.

She left the den to get some fresh water for him to drink and gave Peter a quick kiss before walking away. While she was out of the den, she quickly grabbed something to eat for herself and Peter. They did have to keep up their strength if they wanted to be there for father and son.

She made her way back to Peter and gave him the food she had brought. He first declined, but El explained that she could only take care of one sick family member. So Peter reluctantly started eating.

When El sat down next to Neal she realized that the fever had gotten worse again, Neal had also become restless again and was tossing and turning on the bed. That was strange. An hour ago, the fever had gone down and now it was up again. The only difference was the egg. El quickly got up and carefully took the egg from the basinet and placed it between Neal´s paws again. He immediately settled down. It had to be the egg, Neal was different from female dragons. El had been perfectly fine when Mozzie had placed her eggs in the basinet, but for some reason, Neal needed the egg with him. He seemed to be resting peacefully, now that the egg was close to him.

When Neal stayed calm and relaxed, she told Peter to call her if anything changed. She had to take care of the rest of her family.

 

* * *

 

When El returned two hours later, the household taken care of, she could see that Neal was resting comfortable and so was Peter, he must have fallen asleep. She quickly felt Neal´s skin, she was relieved to feel that it was closer to normal.

El had been thinking and needed to check out something, she had heard stories about animals that had a pouch to keep their babies in, it was in a land far from here, but she had heard the stories and thought they were just that, stories, but maybe, they were true. When Neal started stirring, she shook him a bit to rouse him. He automatically felt for the egg. She coaxed him in drinking some of the broth she had made. When he turned onto his side to drink from the bowl, she could see it, how had they missed it, Neal had a skin flap, she didn´t have. El carefully took the egg from Neal´s weak paws and placed it between the scales.

“shh, honey, I just placed the egg safe with you.”

“Is my baby OK?” Neal asked weak.

“Yes, he is, Peter says all is well with your boy. Now rest.”

Neal fell asleep again and when El checked some time later, his fever was still down and he had curled up around his belly.

 

* * *

 

Mozzie entered the cave all excited, until he was faced with an annoyed looking Peter, who was still holding vigil in front of Neal´s den. He stopped abruptly and stood still. Peter eyed him suspiciously and sniffed the air surrounding Mozzie, who twitched nervously. Mozzie looked like he was ready to bolt when El came out of the den.

“Mozzie! Come in.” she exclaimed.

“El, we think we have found the solution.” Mozzie sighed in relief at El´s appearance. Peter wouldn´t do anything with his wife there, surely he wouldn´t.

“He is doing better, Moz, I placed the egg in between the scales of what looks like a skin flap.” El explained.

“You found out yourself?” Mozzie sounded a bit disappointed, he thought he was the bringer of great news.

“That was the reason?” El sounded surprised.

“Yes, we found out in an ancient manuscript that Gulkhadans keep their egg in a skin flat, they are bonded closer to their baby than other dragons. So they need to keep it close with them. How is he doing?”

“Better, the fever is dropping and he had some broth. He is resting now.”

“Good, good. I guess my work is done, then…” Mozzie looked expectantly at El.

“OK, Mozzie, let´s go, we will have some of the good wine too celebrate the birth of our baby.” El laughed, hearing Peter huff behind her.

 

* * *

 

Neal continued improving now that he kept the egg close to him. The old shimmering in his scales came back and with him and with his strength, also the agitation whenever Peter came too close. It was obvious that Neal was protection his egg, and although he wanted to spend time with Peter, the presence of an alfa male made Neal wary, so he spend a lot of time in his den.

Peter tried to lure him out, with books and presents, but Neal always quickly retreated to his own space. Mozzie had become a friend to Neal and they spend al lot of time together. He would entertain Neal with his stories of other countries he had visited and they made serious attempt to deplete Peter´s wine stock, well Mozzie did.

El tried to tell Peter to be patient and that once the hatchling was born, Neal would become more himself again. That Neal was only following his instinct to protect his baby. She did however spend more time with Peter, now that she herself didn´t have hatchlings anymore. She made sure to keep Peter occupied.

 

Life in Peter´s harem was settling again.

 

_To be continued…_

 


	6. The hatchling

Neal continued to get better and built up strength and soon, he was up to his old standard. His coat looked vibrant and almost glowing. Peter started calling out for him again and Neal could see that Peter found him mesmerizing once again, no that he was healthy and fit again. He was still cautious around Peter, but with his increase strength, he wasn´t as afraid of Peter anymore as he had before.

Peter had explained to Neal that he didn´t want to hurt him or the egg, so there was nothing to fear. Peter left the cave to once again engage in normal dragon life. El took care of the family and Neal, he waited…

He got bored, now that he wasn´t sick or weak anymore, he got bored easily, but he didn´t dare wonder outside the cave, because he wasn´t sure what he could en could not do with the egg in his pouch.

So he asked Mozzie to keep him company and tell him about Peter´s life outside, his family, his victories and Mozzie was happy to tell Neal as long as he was allowed in Peter´s wine cellars. Peter´s daughters and wives also entertained Neal by pampering him, and telling him how Peter was as a father and husband. So life in the Peter´s household went on.

El tried to find out more about Gulkhandan eggs, how long did they need to incubate, how would they know when it would hatch, what did they need to expect? But little was known, so they just had to wait and see.

 

* * *

 

After an excruciating wait of a hundred days, Neal felt something strange in his pouch, he peeked in and almost let out a girlish squeal. The egg finally started showing cracks, Neal was delighted and freaked out all at the same time and called out to Peter and El. He had placed the egg in the bassinet, not sure what to do with it. Mozzie was fetched and Neal and El had placed the bassinet closer to the entrance of the den, so Peter could see it from his position.

The struggle inside the egg took most of the day, but finally a carbuncle appeared in one of the cracks and the egg broke apart. A pair of the most amazing blue eyes looked into the world. The hatchling was gorgeous; it was a grayish color that almost looked silver, he had little stumps on his head where his horns would grow. He was so cute. When he tried to get out of the remains of the egg, they could see that his little feet seemed to be too big for his body.

It started gaping right away, Neal looked around, not knowing what to do, but El was prepared, so she gave some meat to Neal who placed it in his son´s mouth. He happily ate it and looked around curiously. He staggered to his little feet and wobbled trying to stand up. His little wings unfolded and started to fill up. He flapped them like he was ready to take to the air, And Neal jumped forward to prevent his baby to fly away. Peter and El only smiled at the sight, knowing that he wouldn´t be able to fly for a couple of weeks to months, depending on what sort of dragon he would be. They knew so little about Gulkhandan babies, El made a mental note to talk to the Elders to see what she could find out now that the baby was here.

Once he steadied out, he started testing what he could do and he started investigating the den, sniffing around, licking things, eventually wandering to the entrance, where Peter was lying and watching the scene. Everybody held his breath when the hatchling was suddenly confronted with a very large muzzle and two peering brown eyes.

It first startled and took a few steps back, but his curiosity won and he shimmied closer to Peter. He first sniffed Peter and then gave a lick with his small tongue. Peter´s heart melted there and then. His son. This was his son, his heir.

“What will you name him?” Neal asked Peter.

“He will have my name, like I have my father´s name.” Peter said. “His name will be Peidearan Niell Draco.”

“That is a strong name, I like it.” Neal looked fondly at Peidearan, who was now looking at Mozzie, trying to figure what to make of him.

As quick as Peidearan had wandered off, as quickly he fell asleep. He had dropped down on the spot. El picked him up and gave a kiss on his head while placing him in the basinet.

“He is beautiful, Neal, congratulations. I will go prepare some dinner, will you join us Mozzie?”

 

* * *

 

Within a week, Neal was exhausted beyond believe. He hadn´t realized that the hatchling needed feeding every two hours, day and night. It would crawl onto places it was not supposed to and he was awake when Neal wanted to sleep. Neal quickly learned to sleep when the baby slept.

It seemed a day job, just to stay on top of Peidearan. He would crawl onto things and jump off, flapping his little wings that were nowhere near big enough to carry him. He would wonder through the cave looking for food, it seemed like he was always hungry.

Neal would find treasures everywhere in his den, as Peidearan hoarded every shiny object he could find, so all the girl´s little treasures ended up in Peidearan ´s bassinet.

He would fall asleep with the girls, who all took care of the only boy in the family, while Neal returned all of the stuff Peidearan had collected during the day.

And when the family couldn´t find Peidearan, they didn´t have to look far; he would be sitting with Peter, who would tell him stories, about ancient dragons and wizards.

But when he was really tired and needed a safe spot, he would always wander back to Neal and try to crawl back in his pouch, which wasn´t possible anymore, so Neal would gather him up and curl around him protectively.

He would take care of his son and would raise him to be the proud and worthy heir to Peter´s family.

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

As per tradition, El and Peter organized a naming ceremony within thirty days after the hatching. During the ceremony, Peter would give his son his name and take him as his heir. Officials, family and friends were invited on the big day and the ceremony would take place in the meadow in front of the cave. The meadow had been decorated by Peter and El´s daughters and a large buffet had been made to provide food and drinks for all the guests.

The Elders had been informed that the baby was Peter and Neal´s and when both parents had presented their son to the Elders the ceremony had been performed. Peter now had an heir and had promised to protect and take care of him and to raise him in the way of the ancient dragons.

Once the ceremony had taken place, Peter called out to Neal who was drinking a glass of wine with Mozzie.

“Neal, can you come over here?” Peter looked serious.

Neal looked up at Peter with confusion, they just had the naming ceremony for their son, what else could there be? It was time to celebrate.

All the guests had turned silent as they sensed the wariness between Peter and Neal. When Neal was close enough, Peter pulled Neal towards him. El was standing next to him and Mozzie took hold of Peidearan who wanted to see what was going on.

 

Peter looked Neal in the eyes with a sincerity Neal had never seen before.

“Neal, I want to take you as my mate, I want to remove the collar that binds you to me, and I want you to stay with me because you want to stay, not because you have to stay. Will you do me that honor?”

Neal looked baffled from Peter to El, who gave him a small nod and smiled. Neal could feel tears building in his eyes.

“Yes, yes, I do.”

Peter took a dagger and cut of the binding collar and replaced it with a gold necklace, the same El wore.

“Then with this gold necklace I make you my first dracone as El is my first draikana. I will take care of you both and promise to honor and cerise you as equals.”

Neal was speechless, so he did the only thing he could think of, he gave Peter a big deep kiss.

 

The end.

 


End file.
